cheap crafts

My regular teens seem to really enjoy destroying old books when we do crafts. My most popular crafternoon to date was a hollowed book. I guess it seems taboo to them, being in the library and all. Since they love cutting up books so much, I’ve been trying to think of a new upcycle craft for them. Before I took over teen programs, I made a paperback wallet for a friend for their birthday and he loved it. It seems like the perfect project for our teens. I tweaked the process a little to incorporate another teen favorite (duct tape) and to simplify it.

Supply Costs:

Paperbacks – $0, I plan to use recently weeded items.

Duct tape – $0, still have lots on hand from another crafternoon.

Contact paper – $0, the PR Manager had some lying around (way to go, Julie!)

Adhesive Velcro – $0, more leftovers.

Scissors – $0, a library programmer’s pantry necessity.

Pens – $0, we’re going use some from the stockpile of promotional pens.

Total Supply Costs: $0!!!! My favorite kind of craft is the craft that uses up all my leftover supplies (the director loves that, too). If I had to guestimate the cost of supplies if you don’t have leftovers, I would say $20-30 for approximately 10 teens. Just depends on where you shop and the brands you purchase (tip: always go off-brand).

The Sharpie mug is an easy and cheap craft (my favorite kind of craft).

Supply Costs:

Mugs – $10 for 10 mugs (Dollar Tree, baby!)

Sharpies – $0, we already have a ton of the markers at our library for various craft purposes. I suppose, if you’re flush with cash, you could shell out the extra moola for actual ceramic Sharpies. I probably could have done that, but I’m all about keeping the Benjamins.

Oven – $0. Luckily, our library has a working oven already installed in it. If yours doesn’t, I suggest borrowing a bunch of toaster ovens from coworkers and/or friends.

Total Supply Costs – $10.00

Total Craft Time: 45- 60 minutes for decorating and then baking the mugs.

Another event that had to be rescheduled, was a tour for an after-school girls group. The plan was to have a tour of the physical library, then a quick tour of the virtual branch (aka, our website and relevant digital resources), then do a quick craft. This event has also been rescheduled for next week. The craft planned is really the quickest craft ever: duct tape bookmarks.

Getting the discussion rolling in my teen book club can be tough. Especially when the teens don’t know each other. To get things started I made an icebreaker version of Jenga (I saw this on Pinterest somewhere, but can’t find the pin now). It’s very simple to make. I just got a generic Jenga game from Dollar General, typed up some icebreaker questions, and taped them to the game pieces. It’s played like regular Jenga, but you have to answer the question on whatever piece you pull.

The teens went crazy over this game and it really helped everyone get comfortable with each other before discussing the book. They wanted to play it at the start of every meeting. It helps if you have a mix of silly questions and standard get-to-know-you questions.

Note: The chess club teens also flipped out over Book Lover’s Jenga, which is similar but is actually an official Jenga game and dedicated to bookish questions. One of them even asked if he could take it home with him.